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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pithy, punchy and practical companion for new managers, 22 Jan 2003
This book probably won't actually teach you much about management - but what it WILL do is remind you how to put what you've discovered on the job or through training into practice, and how to think like a manager. It seems to be aimed at the nonspecialist or beginning manager, possibly with other non-managerial responsibilities - at least, I've found it almost perfectly suited to myself and and that describes my role!I bought it about a year after I first had line-management responsibility and found (and still find) it a good quick reference and reminder on how to do most of the managerial things I find myself doing day-to-day. You'll need your own company's procedures to hand, but Jay and her co-writers describe the basics of planning, finance, HR, team leading, project management, meetings, presentations, research, reports, personal effectiveness and some of the skills you'll need to do these tasks well. The style is informal - perhaps a little too informal - but in general this is a well-organised book that helps you focus on what you should be thinking about and when. The overall approach is very much on getting things done right, and fast. The book is divided into 19 sections each dealing with one common managerial task or function; the sections start by discussing your objectives and then introduce tactics and techniques that help you achieve them. A lot of bullet points, checklists and sidebars point out do's, dont's and potential pitfalls. The layout is consistent and easy to use - after having worked through one section you'll be comfortable with the rather disjointed style and by the time you've used a few you'll be very comfortable with the approach and using the structure to guide your own thinking. Far from being a textbook (and probably not the sort of thing you'd read from cover to cover in one go), this is a book I find myself constantly dipping into whenever I need a a reminder on the best way to succeed in the managerial side of my job.
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